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Suspected supplier of fake Viagra pleads guilty
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Posted on Jul 24 2011
A suspected big-time supplier of fake Viagra pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday.
Cai Xia Xu, a female Chinese national, pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods as part of a plea deal.
U.S. District Court for the NMI visiting judge William Q. Hayes set Xu’s sentencing to Oct. 25, 2011, and ordered the U.S. Probation Office to submit a presentence investigation report on Sept. 20, 2011.
Assistant U.S. attorney James Benedetto appeared for the U.S. government. Attorney Michael Dotts served as counsel for the suspect.
The U.S. government had charged Xu with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and receipt and delivery of misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.
Xu appeared for a change of plea hearing on Thursday. Hayes however, discontinued the hearing and rejected Xu’s guilty plea after she burst into tears.
Xu, through an interpreter, stated that she didn’t realize that what she was doing was a serious offense.
Garrett Chinn, special agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, stated in an affidavit that a confidential source managed to buy a total of 50 bottles of fake Viagra from Xu on separate occasions on Feb. 24, May 2, and 6, 2011.
Each bottle reportedly contained at least 30 tablets.
Chinn said that test results of the drug brought from Xu showed that the label and foil seal were not authentic, and the bottle had a wrong recycle code.
An officer from Pfizer Global Security also tested the tablets and determined that the tablets and labeling were both counterfeit, Chinn said.
